The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced a delay in the printing of ballots for the upcoming Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.

This decision follows the ratification of a bill by the House of Representatives, which moves the bicameral conference committee report to 13 October 2025, from the originally scheduled 13 May.

In a radio interview, Comelec chairperson George Garcia explained that the printing of ballots had been temporarily halted due to the potential passage of the bill.

Despite the pause, Garcia confirmed that at least 32 million ballots have already been printed, out of the 72 million ballots required for the election.

Once President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs the bill into law, the elections in the Bangsamoro region will be aligned with the 2028 national elections and will take place every three years thereafter.

Earlier this month, Marcos Jr. certified the bill moving the BARMM elections as “urgent,” with the goal of “realigning” the government structure of the Bangsamoro region.

Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, the Minister for the Interior and Local Government in BARMM expressed appreciation for Marcos’ decision, noting that “several issues need to be addressed” before proceeding to the 2025 polls.

Garcia also mentioned that the possibility of a new filing for Certificates of Candidacy remains open, particularly in light of the redistribution of vacated seats. Since Sulu is not part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, “the number of towns will change, and there could even be new districts. In such cases, we will need to reopen the filing in the affected areas,” he added.